Wells County, North Dakota Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Wells County, ND Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • B
    Health Around average
  • B
    Income Around average
  • D
    Education Well below average
    Less educated than 71% of counties in North Dakota

Source: Map AI Methodology

Wells County
Click a county to open it Explore the map →
Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Wells County North Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Population 3,890 784,730 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 3.0 11.1 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.88% 0.80% 0.59%
Median age 45.2 36.3 37.3
Households 1,787 331,016 130,235,071

Population in Wells County declined by 8.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 3,890 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Wells County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Wells County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 25.6% of residents. That is 9.6 points above North Dakota as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below North Dakota, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 51.1% of the people living in Wells County and men 48.9%.

How many residents match a customer profile?

Who to count

Residents matching this profile

3,890

100% of everyone living in Wells County

Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.

Economy

Wells County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.

Metric Wells County North Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $65,240 $76,862 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 3.19% 3.32% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 2.0% 2.7% 5.2%

The median household income in Wells County is about 15% lower than in North Dakota.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Wells County North Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $106,896 $125,877 $248,835
Median rent $647 $953 $1,407
Homeownership rate 77.1% 62.9% 65.2%

The median home price in Wells County is about 13.8 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $647 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Wells County spend about 18 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 74 hours, about 3.1 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Wells County North Dakota Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 8.9 13.8 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 17.8 27.6 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 74 115 187
Estimated yearly cost $2,294 $3,567 $5,790
Work from home 10.4% 8.1% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 878 2,106 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 152 360 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in North Dakota: McIntosh County (6.9 min), Foster County (7.7 min), Pierce County (7.7 min).
Slowest: McHenry County (28.9 min), Renville County (23.5 min), Oliver County (22.8 min).

The average commute time in Wells County is 9 minutes, shorter than the 14 minutes in North Dakota.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Wells County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.

Metric Wells County North Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 20.9% 29.0% 31.6%
Average household size 2.12 2.29 2.53

Highest education index among counties in North Dakota: Cass County (0.3), Burleigh County (0.3), Grand Forks County (0.3).
Lowest: Sioux County (0.2), Sheridan County (0.2), Hettinger County (0.2).

Health

Wells County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Wells County North Dakota Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 78.8 79.4 78.3
Self-rated poor health 15.1% 14.3% 16.3%
Smokers 16.6% 18.7% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in North Dakota: Burleigh County (0.8), Steele County (0.8), Cass County (0.8).
Lowest: Sioux County (0.7), Rolette County (0.7), Benson County (0.8).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Wells County, North Dakota.

What is the population of Wells County, North Dakota?

About 3,890 people live in Wells County, North Dakota, in 1,787 households of 2.1 people on average. The median age is 45.2, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 8 years.

How densely populated is Wells County, North Dakota?

Averaged over its land area, Wells County, North Dakota has 3 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 3% of the U.S. average of 86.

How affordable is housing in Wells County, North Dakota?

The median home costs 1.6 times the median household income ($106,896 against $65,240), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $647 a month takes about 12% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

Is it hard to find a job in Wells County, North Dakota?

Unemployment in Wells County, North Dakota is only 2.0%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

How educated are people in Wells County, North Dakota?

20.9% of adults in Wells County, North Dakota hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

Analyze any area in the US

Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.

Explore the map →